Persistent toxic algae blooms are wreaking havoc on Ohio's multi-billion dollar lake tourism industry. Elected officials and state agencies are fighting back with new tools to better help them monitor the blooms and reduce the nutrients feeding them from Ohio farms and cities. But the battle isn't over yet.

Persistent toxic algae blooms are wreaking havoc on Ohio’s multi-billion dollar lake tourism industry. Now elected officials and state agencies are fighting back with new tools to better help them monitor the blooms and reduce the nutrients feeding them from Ohio farms and cities.

But the battle isn’t over yet.

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Two years ago, a record-breaking toxic algae bloom formed in western Lake Erie and floated east. It coated harbors and shorelines in the Lake Erie Islands, even drinking water intakes in Cleveland. Last yearâ€™s bloom was nowhere near as bad, but toxic algae is still having a major impact on the Lake Erie tourism economy.

Rick Unger, president of the Lake Erie Charter Boat Association, says heâ€™s no longer bringing his boat to Cleveland for the fall fishing season.

In Cleveland, that bloom was so bad, I remember one day taking my customers out to try to find clean water. And I went 14-miles straight north and never got out of it. And thick. Not just, youâ€™d see a little bit. No. This was feet thick, slowing the boat down. I couldnâ€™t fish â€˜em, I had to take them back to shore.

Unger says that day alone he lost more than a thousand-dollars, along with six customers who likely wonâ€™t be back. And that story is being repeated across the eight counties of the Ohio Lake Erie shore, where tourism brings in $11.5 billion a year.

This July, at Ohio State Universityâ€™s Stone Lab in Put-in-Bay, state agency chiefs laid out new plans and tools theyâ€™re using to combat the algae.

“What are we doing, whatâ€™s Ohio EPA been doing – and, oh, by the way, weâ€™ve not been sitting on our hands,” says Scott Nally, director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Nally says his department has been working with sewer districts in Ohio and Michigan, trying to prioritize projects that would reduce the flow of nutrients that feed the algae blooms from city wastewater plants. He says thereâ€™s also a new program that would let farmers, considered non-point source polluters, trade credits for nutrient cutbacks that cities make from point-sources like outfall pipes.

“Ohio has rules in place now, so that I can incorporate nutrient trading between non-point and point sources, to be able to give cities credit for that,” Nally says.

Nally has also revived the Ohio Lake Erie Phosphorus Task Force, which three years ago identified Northwest Ohio farms along the Maumee River as the primary source of the phosphorus fertilizers giving birth to recurring algae blooms.

Gail Hesse, head of the Ohio Lake Erie Commission and leader of the task force, says her group has now come up with specific reductions that need to be made.

The recommended target is 150 tons. And so that overall, a 41-percent reduction from the average is what weâ€™re seeking to achieve.

Hesse says the recent average of phosphorus from farms and other sources is 256-tons. So thereâ€™s still a big gap between whatâ€™s coming into the lake and the reductions needed to curb the algae.

Hesse believes that with help from farmers, many of whom were initially resistant to being blamed for the blooms, the algae problem can be solved.

“We have gotten to the point where weâ€™re past the denial and the finger-pointing and really, itâ€™s, weâ€™re all in this together. Everybody wants to find the right solution as to what will make a difference,” she says.

Another potential tool in Ohioâ€™s algae-fighting efforts is Senate Bill 150, a ground-breaking piece of legislation that would, for the first time, give the Ohio Department of Natural Resources the power to cite farmers for polluting the lake. Legislators are getting feedback on that bill from agricultural communities this summer. In the meantime, intensive scientific monitoring of the Lake Erie algae blooms continues.

“And this is called an integrated tube sampler, going to lower it down to two meters…and hereâ€™s our water sample.”

At Ohio Stateâ€™s Stone Lab, Justin Chaffin is demonstrating how heâ€™s sampling Put-in-Bay for signs of toxic algae. Chaffin is head of the universityâ€™s new water quality research lab, which just opened this year.

Along with Heidelberg University and the University of Toledo, heâ€™ll be testing water samples being taken from across the lake this summer, to see how algae blooms respond to any reductions in nutrients. Itâ€™s this testing that will ultimately determine whether the fight against algae succeeds or fails.

Ohio EPA chief Scott Nally says, as long as heâ€™s in charge, the monitoring will continue.

“Unfortunately, Iâ€™m locked into budget cycles, so at least for two years.”

Thereâ€™s an additional $600,000 for lake monitoring in the new state budget. But thereâ€™s also a looming Congressional battle over federal funding for the Great Lakes, some of which goes to pay for Lake Erie monitoring. And no one can predict how long it will take before Lake Erieâ€™s algae problem is licked.

Karen Schaefer’s series on Northeast Ohio water quality – Drink, Fish, Swim â€“ is supported by a grant from the Burning River Foundation.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2013/08/05/fighting-ohios-algae-problem/feed/4algae,lake erie,lakes,tourismPersistent toxic algae blooms are wreaking havoc on Ohio's multi-billion dollar lake tourism industry. Elected officials and state agencies are fighting back with new tools to better help them monitor the blooms and reduce the nutrients feeding them fr...Persistent toxic algae blooms are wreaking havoc on Ohio's multi-billion dollar lake tourism industry. Elected officials and state agencies are fighting back with new tools to better help them monitor the blooms and reduce the nutrients feeding them from Ohio farms and cities. But the battle isn't over yet.WOSU Newsno5:22House Lawmakers Vote On Great Lakes Compact Compromisehttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/04/25/house-lawmakers-vote-on-great-lakes-compact-compromise/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/04/25/house-lawmakers-vote-on-great-lakes-compact-compromise/#commentsWed, 25 Apr 2012 09:20:06 +0000Karen Kaslerhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/?p=27191

Lawmakers on the House Agriculture committee voted strictly along party lines to approve the deal that would put into effect in Ohio the Great Lakes Compact, an agreement signed in 2005 by eight states and two Canadian provinces seeks to protect the Great Lakes from massive withdrawals of water.

Lawmakers could vote tomorrow on legislation enacting a multi-state agreement that safeguards the Great Lakes from massive withdrawals of water. This is a compromise to keep the Governor from vetoing it again, but that doesnâ€™t mean everyoneâ€™s OK with it.

Lawmakers on the House Agriculture committee voted strictly along party lines to approve the deal that would put into effect in Ohio the Great Lakes Compact, an agreement signed in 2005 by eight states and two Canadian provinces seeks to protect the Great Lakes from massive withdrawals of water. This is the second time around for the Great Lakes Compact legislation â€“ last yearâ€™s try earned lawmakers the one and only veto that Gov. John Kasich has issued.

There have been some changes to the bill, but most supporters who liked it before still do.

Larry Antosh from the Ohio Farm Bureau said the bill accomplishes the objectives of the Compact and promotes stewardship of Ohioâ€™s water resources.

â€œEnsuring a safe, sustainable supply of water to meet the needs of todayâ€™s and future generations, protects existing private property rights associated with surface and ground water, and promotes economic development and job creation by recognizing that abundant fresh water is a highly desirable commodity,” Antosh said.

The bill cuts in half the amount of water that can be taken from Lake Erie 2.5 million gallons without a permit. But most environmental activists say the Ohio proposal doesnâ€™t do enough to safeguard the tributaries and streams that run into Lake Erie.

And some are very concerned about provisions allowing for withdrawals to be capped but averaged not daily, but over as long as 90 days. Sam Speck was the director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for eight years under Republican Gov. Bob Taft.

â€œOver 90 days is a total of nine million gallons you could take, and the way itâ€™s currently written, you could do all that in one day. And of course thatâ€™s a way in which you could destroy a stream or the fishery in that stream,â€ Speck said.

Thatâ€™s never happened before and is extremely unlikely, says the Republican lawmaker who worked with Gov. Kasich on this compromise – Rep. Lynn Wachtmann of northwest Ohio.

â€œThe fact is that in Ohioâ€™s history, weâ€™ve never had a single problem with that. And up until now, there has been no regulation in Ohio except for reporting withdrawal. So the lies being told by some of the environmental groups that weâ€™re repealing safeguards in place is simply that â€“ a lie,â€ Wachtmann said.

But Jack Shaner with the Ohio Environmental Council says just because itâ€™s never happened before doesnâ€™t mean it couldnâ€™t now, for one big reason â€“ fracking.

â€œWell, look out, youâ€™re going to see that now with the oil and gas industry. You know, weâ€™ve never seen these kinds of withdrawals concentrated â€“ and these are in parts of the state with very low water resources to begin with, over there in eastern Ohio,â€ Shaner said.

But Ag committee chair David Hall of Millersburg in northern Ohio â€“ near where some fracking activity has been going on â€“ says heâ€™s not worried about drillers pulling millions of gallons of water from vulnerable streams.

â€œTheyâ€™re working with a lot of cities right now â€“ the potential of using city water and using the untreated water first. So I donâ€™t see that being an addressed issue that we need to look at.â€

Environmental activists are also very concerned about a provision of the bill that limits who can challenge the state over permits. The bill allows only water users who can prove an economic or property injury related to a withdrawal to appeal permits â€“ not those who use the water for recreation or other activities. Former ODNR director Speck says he thinks if the bill passes, that will end up in court.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2012/04/25/house-lawmakers-vote-on-great-lakes-compact-compromise/feed/0agriculture,department of natural resources,fracking,Gov. Kasich,great lakes,lakes,ohio department of natural resourcesLawmakers on the House Agriculture committee voted strictly along party lines to approve the deal that would put into effect in Ohio the Great Lakes Compact, an agreement signed in 2005 by eight states and two Canadian provinces seeks to protect the Gr...Lawmakers on the House Agriculture committee voted strictly along party lines to approve the deal that would put into effect in Ohio the Great Lakes Compact, an agreement signed in 2005 by eight states and two Canadian provinces seeks to protect the Great Lakes from massive withdrawals of water.WOSU Newsno3:41Obama Appoints Great Lakes Czarhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2009/06/04/obama-appoints-great-lakes-czar/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2009/06/04/obama-appoints-great-lakes-czar/#commentsThu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0000Sadie Taylorhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2009/06/04/obama-appoints-great-lakes-czar/Throughout Ohio's industrial history, Lake Erie has been used as a receptacle for waste - and only in the last few decades has there been a real effort to clean it up. Now the Obama administration has chosen a "Great Lakes" czar to focus those clean up efforts.

]]>President Obama appointed Cameron Davis as a special advisor to the Environmental Protection Agency to oversee the restoration of the Great Lakes. Davis has been the CEO of the Alliance for the Great Lakes for 11 years.

The Alliance has worked with Marysville Scotts Miracle-Gro Company to educate consumers about proper lawn care. Richard Shank is the Chief Environmental Officer at Scotts. He says the company partnered with Alliance because their water preservation efforts were already aligned.

“So we formed an alliance so to speak to go out and educate people in the Great Lakes how to maintain their home sites to improve water quality in the Great Lakes,” says Shank.

Shank says he has worked on Great Lakes environmental issues for more than thirty years and that he thinks Davis will be effective in his new position.

“I’ve met a lot of environmental professionals in the Great Lakes area. Cameron Davis is one of the best — and I don’t think the Obama administration could have made a better choice,” says Shank.

The Alliance has lobbied for the complete restoration of the Great Lakes – which they estimate would cost $20 billion. Obama’s proposed 2010 budget allocates $475 million in new spending for the Great Lakes.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2009/06/04/obama-appoints-great-lakes-czar/feed/0erie,great,lakesThroughout Ohio's industrial history, Lake Erie has been used as a receptacle for waste - and only in the last few decades has there been a real effort to clean it up. Now the Obama administration has chosen a "Great Lakes" czar to focus those clean u...Throughout Ohio's industrial history, Lake Erie has been used as a receptacle for waste - and only in the last few decades has there been a real effort to clean it up. Now the Obama administration has chosen a "Great Lakes" czar to focus those clean up efforts.WOSU Newsno1:12Ohio Approves Great Lakes Compacthttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2008/06/10/ohio-approves-great-lakes-compact/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2008/06/10/ohio-approves-great-lakes-compact/#commentsTue, 10 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0000Jo Ingleshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2008/06/10/ohio-approves-great-lakes-compact/Ohio lawmakers Tuesday moved to make thestate the sixth to approve an agreement aimed at protecting the Great Lakes.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2008/06/10/ohio-approves-great-lakes-compact/feed/0compact,great,lakesOhio lawmakers Tuesday moved to make thestate the sixth to approve an agreement aimed at protecting the Great Lakes.Ohio lawmakers Tuesday moved to make thestate the sixth to approve an agreement aimed at protecting the Great Lakes.WOSU Newsno1:13Ohio Lawmakers Fail to Agree on Plan to Proect Great Lakeshttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2008/05/29/ohio-lawmakers-fail-to-agree-on-plan-to-proect-great-lakes/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2008/05/29/ohio-lawmakers-fail-to-agree-on-plan-to-proect-great-lakes/#commentsThu, 29 May 2008 00:00:00 +0000Bill Cohenhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2008/05/29/ohio-lawmakers-fail-to-agree-on-plan-to-proect-great-lakes/A plan to remove Ohio as the lastroadblock to finishing an agreement among the Great Lakes states to protect their water has run into a barrier - again.

]]>A plan to remove Ohio as the last roadblock to finishing an agreement among the Great Lakes states to protect their water has run into a barrier – again.

The Ohio House on Thursday fell short of passing a plan to ask voters to approve protections for property owners regarding the use of water on their land. The Senate feels the protections are crucial to joining the other states and two Canadian provinces in a pact to try to keep arid states from siphoning water from the lakes.

After the deal fell apart in the House, the Senate in turned refused to consider a bill authorizing Ohio to join the coalition. The House has twice in the last four years voted to OK the deal, only to see it fail in the Senate. Lawmakers left open the possibility of another vote on June 10.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2008/05/29/ohio-lawmakers-fail-to-agree-on-plan-to-proect-great-lakes/feed/0great,lakes,pactA plan to remove Ohio as the lastroadblock to finishing an agreement among the Great Lakes states to protect their water has run into a barrier - again.A plan to remove Ohio as the lastroadblock to finishing an agreement among the Great Lakes states to protect their water has run into a barrier - again.WOSU Newsno4:04Goverment Trying to Keep Great Lake Waters Stillhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2007/12/10/goverment-trying-to-keep-great-lake-waters-still/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2007/12/10/goverment-trying-to-keep-great-lake-waters-still/#commentsMon, 10 Dec 2007 00:00:00 +0000Karen Kaslerhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2007/12/10/goverment-trying-to-keep-great-lake-waters-still/A deal that's supposed to prevent Great Lakes water from being diverted to other parts of the US and the world got dammed up in the legislature last session. It may be reintroduced very soon, but one lawmaker is trying to turn the tide against it.

]]>A deal that’s supposed to prevent Great Lakes water from being diverted to other parts of the US and the world got dammed up in the legislature last session. It may be reintroduced very soon, but one lawmaker is trying to turn the tide against it.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2007/12/10/goverment-trying-to-keep-great-lake-waters-still/feed/0great,lakes,legislation,waterA deal that's supposed to prevent Great Lakes water from being diverted to other parts of the US and the world got dammed up in the legislature last session. It may be reintroduced very soon, but one lawmaker is trying to turn the tide against it.A deal that's supposed to prevent Great Lakes water from being diverted to other parts of the US and the world got dammed up in the legislature last session. It may be reintroduced very soon, but one lawmaker is trying to turn the tide against it.WOSU Newsno3:18Great Lakes water plan in limbohttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2006/12/22/great-lakes-water-plan-in-limbo/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2006/12/22/great-lakes-water-plan-in-limbo/#commentsFri, 22 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0000Bill Cohenhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2006/12/22/great-lakes-water-plan-in-limbo/Ohio legislators have wrapped up their two-year session without giving final approval to an agreement that's supposed to protect Lake Erie and other Great Lakes from plans to pump water out of the region.

]]>Ohio legislators have wrapped up their two-year session without giving final approval to an agreement that’s supposed to protect Lake Erie and other Great Lakes from plans to pump water out of the region.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2006/12/22/great-lakes-water-plan-in-limbo/feed/0Controversy over Great Lakes Water Usehttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2006/11/30/controversy-over-great-lakes-water-use/
http://wosu.org/2012/news/2006/11/30/controversy-over-great-lakes-water-use/#commentsThu, 30 Nov 2006 00:00:00 +0000Bill Cohenhttp://wosu.org/2012/news/2006/11/30/controversy-over-great-lakes-water-use/A proposal to have Ohio join a multi-state compact to regulate the use of water in the Great Lakes is sparking controversy at the statehouse.

]]>A proposal to have Ohio join a multi-state compact to regulate the use of water in the Great Lakes is sparking controversy at the statehouse.

Governor Bob Taft and environmentalists are pushing the plan, but critics claim it would force Ohio to give away regulatory power to a United-Nations-like group. Statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen has both sides of the story.